Translator: SourKimchi
"No! My boyfriend would never do that!"
BonelessRamyeon pushed back hard, denying it.
But Park Ji-hun didn't change his expression in the slightest and said, cutting,
"He'd never, huh."
He closed his eyes again, then opened them.
Beyond the tangled energy around BonelessRamyeon, a hazy scene surfaced once more.
Red neon signs.
Air soaked with the smell of liquor.
Clothes scattered every which way.
Rumpled bed sheets.
And a man tangled up with a woman he didn't recognize.
'Unbelievable.'
Even on a second look, it was a sickening sight.
"I messaged him earlier and he said he was home. He told me he'd call back later......"
BonelessRamyeon forced herself to sound calm and pressed on.
"PerpetualJobSeeker-nim, isn't it possible you saw something wrong?"
But her voice was trembling faintly.
-Azukara : ah fk im getting anxious just watching
-agei : gotta at least check first
-MuteRoom : BonelessRamyeon-nim's gotta be shaking like crazy
-LegendDrum : but we still dont know for sure right?
-Kaet : is it really that weird to say youre busy and call later
-Kkoka : but if he keeps dodging thats kinda sus too
Park Ji-hun let out a scornful snort.
"Home? Yeah, right."
For a moment the chat froze.
"......What?"
"He's lying."
Ji-hun's voice was low, but firm.
"He's not at home."
From the other end of Discord came the sound of BonelessRamyeon's ragged breathing.
"No! My boyfriend isn't the kind of person who'd do that!"
"You still believe that?"
Park Ji-hun knit his brows.
The Vision was growing clearer and clearer.
Light leaking out from under a door, red neon signs, the blurry sign of a motel.
Ji-hun drove the final nail in.
"Your boyfriend. He's at a motel right now."
The chat shook hard again.
-Azukara : whoa not home but a motel??
-dwm9911 : isnt this going a bit too far?
-Kasung : then just go check
-MuteRoom : if hes that certain he def saw something
-LegendDrum : motel is kinda heavy tho
-agei : guess going there would settle it
As if struck, BonelessRamyeon couldn't say a word for a while.
Over Discord, only her ragged breathing drifted faintly.
It was a long time before she asked, in a voice that sounded barely wrung out.
"......What should I do?"
Park Ji-hun answered in a cold tone.
"Call him. Right now."
***
BonelessRamyeon couldn't answer right away.
Maybe her hands were shaking, because a faint rustling noise crept in over the mic.
It was a long while before she opened her mouth.
"......R-right now?"
"Yeah, now."
Park Ji-hun's answer was short and dry.
A voice that didn't leave even a moment to hesitate.
The chat boiled over again.
-MuteRoom : go go go go
-agei : put it on speaker lets go
-dwm9911 : just try calling first
-Kaet : sus if he picks up sus if he doesnt
She wavered, then, as if making up her mind, spoke in a trembling voice.
"......Okay. Hold on."
A moment later came the sound of her fiddling with her phone.
And then the ringback tone started going out over Discord.
"I'll put it on speaker."
-MuteRoom : whoa here we go
-Azukara : this is gonna be legendary lol
Brrring–
Brrring–
But he didn't pick up.
The chat stirred again.
-SpaceClassroom : hes not answering cuz hes guilty
-LegendDrum : could be mid game and cant pick up tho
-Kasung : still youd think hed answer at least once
-MuteRoom : 100% somethings up
BonelessRamyeon spoke, forcing herself to act like nothing was wrong.
"He usually...... can't pick up much when he's gaming."
But her voice kept trembling.
[The call could not be connected. Transferring to voicemail......]
In the end, the call never went through.
Discord went quiet.
Breaking that silence, a KakaoTalk notification chimed a moment later.
Ping–
The chat scrolled up like crazy.
-Kaet : whatd it say?
-agei : read it quick
-MuteRoom : excuse incoming lol
-Kkoka : no way is it actually an 'im busy' thing
BonelessRamyeon was silent for a few seconds.
She was probably reading the screen.
Then she parted her lips with effort.
"......It says: What now? I'm busy right now, so message me later."
The chat's reactions were split.
-dwm9911 : cant even pick up his gfs call fk
-Azukara : this is kinda sus
-LegendDrum : going by that text alone we still cant tell
-SpaceClassroom : like i said just go and see
-Kasung : motel might be a stretch but dodging this much is weird
Park Ji-hun stared at the monitor with cold eyes, then spoke.
"He's not busy. He's dodging you."
In the end, BonelessRamyeon hung her head.
Her faintly trembling breath went on a few more times, and then a voice came out through gritted teeth.
At that moment, another voice cut in over Discord.
"Sis, it's dangerous to go alone. I'm coming too."
It was a man's voice.
BonelessRamyeon drew in a breath.
"Why would you come? I can go by myself."
"How could I let you go alone? If you're going, we go together."
Her younger brother must have been watching the broadcast beside her the whole time.
-Azukara : oh good
-gkp40 : having her brother along is reassuring for sure
-dwm9911 : better than going alone
Her brother didn't stop there.
"We need to keep evidence. If that bastard tries to weasel out of it later it'll be a headache. You'd even booked the wedding hall and everything."
BonelessRamyeon faltered.
"Record it......?"
Park Ji-hun looked at the screen for a moment, then spoke.
"Forget recording. Let's do a video call."
BonelessRamyeon asked back, seeming flustered.
"A video call?"
"Yeah."
Park Ji-hun's voice was low and firm.
"I need to see so I can give you directions step by step. Give me your number. I'll call."
Her brother nodded right away.
"That's better. Sis, just keep the video call on. We need the evidence anyway."
BonelessRamyeon hesitated a moment, then finally nodded slowly.
"......Okay."
The sound of hurried movement came over Discord.
A drawer opening and closing, the rustle of her grabbing a coat, even footsteps scrambling back and forth.
"I'm about to head out now."
"Sis, give me your phone. I'll hold it."
Her brother cut in calmly from beside her.
Park Ji-hun spoke, his eyes fixed on the monitor.
"No need to rush. He's still there."
At that, her brother answered.
"Got it. Just tell us where to go."
Meanwhile, the chat was completely on fire.
-Kkoka : holy shit shes really going
-dwm9911 : i ordered chicken lol
-SpaceClassroom : gonna go post this on the Internet Broadcast Gallery brb lol
-SseomyeonMaster : already posted it lol
The sound of the front door opening rang out roughly over Discord.
Clack.
Park Ji-hun's gaze went cold and still.
"I'm going to call now, so turn on the video call."
A moment later, the words 'Connecting' appeared at the bottom of the broadcast screen.
[Connecting video call.]
***
BonelessRamyeon.
No. It was Noh Jeong-hui, twenty-eight years old this year.
Even she couldn't understand why she had to step out of the house in the dead of night.
Barely an hour ago she'd been trading messages with her boyfriend, mulling over what they'd eat tomorrow.
Now she was listening to the Spirit Reading of some streamer whose identity she didn't even know, walking toward the motel district with her younger brother.
'Is this even right?'
But she couldn't make her feet stop.
An earphone was lodged in her ear, and a man's low, dry voice came through it, crystal clear.
"Eyes forward."
Noh Jeong-hui swallowed without thinking.
Beside her, her brother kept the video call going, phone in hand.
"Sis, slow down. You're gonna trip."
"......Yeah."
Had she gotten impatient without realizing it?
She eased her pace a little.
But her heart still wouldn't settle.
The night air was cold, yet her back was damp with cold sweat.
The streetlights blurred in her vision.
In her right mind, it was a situation she couldn't possibly believe.
'It can't be. It really can't be.'
She repeated it again and again, but in a corner of her heart, doubt had coiled itself up and was steadily swelling.
"Right."
The voice through the earphone.
She turned.
The moment she stepped into the mouth of the motel-district alley, the air changed.
Red light bleeding across the walls of old buildings, cars parked crooked in the lots, even people stumbling along drunk.
"Keep going."
At the short, firm words, she swallowed dryly.
Her breathing turned ragged and her legs grew heavier and heavier.
Her brother asked carefully.
"Sis, you okay?"
"......No, I'm not."
Her lips had gone bone-dry before she knew it.
But there was no turning back now.
"There. Take the elevator up to the third floor."
She went into the motel.
She rode the elevator and got off on the third floor.
The hallway was narrower than she'd imagined, and the lighting was nothing but dim.
Her brother held the phone up, aiming the camera ahead.
Noh Jeong-hui held her breath without meaning to.
Soon a low, settled voice came through.
"Don't stop. Go all the way to the end."
One step.
Another step.
Noh Jeong-hui walked down the hallway as if she were being shoved toward the edge of a cliff.
Every door had a number on it, but they barely registered.
Her vision kept swaying.
Her heart pounded as though it were beating right beside her ears.
"......Here?"
Her brother whispered softly from the end of the hallway.
When Noh Jeong-hui turned to look, it read '312'.
The door handle was close enough to touch if she just reached out.
But she couldn't bring herself to reach for it.
Her fingertips trembled.
"Um......"
Noh Jeong-hui barely managed to speak.
"What do I do now?"
Park Ji-hun's voice came through the earphone.
"Wait."
Noh Jeong-hui tilted her head.
She couldn't understand why he was telling her to wait.
But that single word kept her from moving.
Her brother, too, stood frozen alongside her.
The hallway was silent.
So quiet she felt she could hear sounds from beyond the door.
That was when it happened.
Ding–
The elevator's arrival chime rang out once more from the end of the hallway.
Noh Jeong-hui and her brother turned their heads at the same time.
The elevator doors opened, and a delivery driver carrying a delivery bag came striding across the hallway.
Stopping in front of room 312, he shot Noh Jeong-hui and her brother a sidelong glance, tilted his head, and knocked on the door.
"Here's your delivery."
Clack–
The firmly shut door of room 312 slowly began to open.